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THE ROLE OF NUTRITION AND TEMPERATURE IN THE OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORKER HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Huarong Lin  and
Mark L. Winston
Huarong Lin*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
Mark L. Winston
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
*
1 Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
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Abstract

Queenless, caged, newly emerged worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) were fed honey, 22 and 40% pollen in honey, and 22 and 40% royal jelly in honey for 14 days. Workers fed royal jelly, pollen, and honey had large, medium, and small ovaries, respectively. Royal jelly had higher nutritive value for workers’ ovarian development than did pollen, possibly because royal jelly is predigested by nurse bees and easily used by adult and larval bees. These results suggest that nurse bees could mediate workers’ ovarian development in colonies via trophallactic exchange of royal jelly. Six levels of royal jelly in honey, 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% (royal jelly without honey), were tested for their effects on workers’ ovarian development and mortality for 10 days. High levels of royal jelly increased ovarian development, but also increased worker mortality. All caged bees treated with 100% royal jelly died within 3 days. When workers were incubated at 20, 27, and 34 °C for 10 days, only bees at 34 °C developed ovaries. These findings suggest that nurse bees functioning as units which digest pollen and produce royal jelly may feed some potentially egg-laying workers in a brood chamber with royal jelly when a queen is lost in a colony. Feeding workers a diet of 50% royal jelly in honey and incubating at 34 °C for 10 days is recommended for tests of ovarian development.

Résumé

Dans des cages, en l’absence de reine, des ouvrières fraîchement émergées de l’Abeille domestique (Apis mellifera L.) ont été nourries de miel, de 22% ou 40% de pollen dans du miel ou de 22% ou 40% de gelée royale dans du miel pendant 14 jours. Les ouvrières nourries de gelée royale avaient de gros ovaires, celles nourries de pollen avaient des ovaires moyens et les abeilles nourries de miel avaient de petits ovaires. La gelée royale a une valeur nutritive supérieure à celle du pollen et favorise davantage le développement ovarien, probablement parce qu’elle est prédigérée par les abeilles nourricières et facilement utilisable par les adultes et les larves. Ces résultats indiquent que les abeilles nourricières pourraient favoriser le développement ovarien des ouvrières dans les colonies par échange trophallactique de gelée royale. Les effets de six concentrations de gelée royale dans du miel, 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% et 100% (gelée royale sans miel) sur le développement ovarien et sur la mortalité ont été examinés pendant 10 jours. Les concentrations élevées de gelée royale ont favorisé le développement ovarien, mais ont également augmenté le taux de mortalité chez les ouvrières. Toutes les abeilles nourries de gelée royale pure sont mortes en moins de 3 jours. Parmi les ouvrières gardées à 20 °C, 27 °C et 34 °C pendant 10 jours, seules celles gardées à 34 °C ont eu des ovaires. Ces résultats semblent indiquer que les abeilles nourricières qui servent d’unités de digestion de pollen et de production de gelée royale sont capables de nourrir de gelée royale les futures pondeuses dans une chambre d’incubation lorsqu’il n’y a plus de reine dans la colonie. Un régime alimentaire composé de 50% de gelée royale dans du miel et une température d’incubation de 34 °C pendant 10 jours sont les conditions recommandées au cours de tests sur le développement ovarien.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 130 , Issue 6 , December 1998 , pp. 883 - 891
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1998

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